This is the report which was submitted to the Northern Unitarian Association AGM on 9 October 2021. It’s a quick update on how things have gone for Newcastle upon Tyne Unitarians between October 2020-October 2021, written by our Chairperson, Louise Reeve.

“For Newcastle upon Tyne Unitarians, as for all Unitarian congregations, the past 12 months have consisted of some mighty challenges, as we prioritised keeping our congregation safe, and our spiritual community intact – whilst also trying to sell our building.

During lockdown, we met via Zoom, with the Secretary (Louise Reeve) sending out highlights of services by letter to members of the congregation who prefer not to use Zoom or are not able to. We returned to worship in person in our building from 13 June 2021 onwards. Fortunately, the large size of our building made it easier for us than for many congregations to socially distance during worship! Keeping on top of the many changes in safety legislation and guidance was a challenge, but we have continued to deliver a weekly Sunday service. In addition, we have now begun to livestream our services via Zoom, and are continuing to develop new ways of hybrid worship. This has been much appreciated by members who are not able to join us in person for health or other reasons.

Diana Bebby continued to produce our bimonthly newsletter, the Calendar, and during lockdown she produced a regular newsletter, the ‘Uplift’, sharing short pieces of cheerful news and features to lift everyone’s spirits. This was much appreciated by everyone who received it, and we gratefully acknowledge the financial contribution of the NUA towards the printing and postage costs. We also acknowledge the NUA’s financial support of our filming and livestreaming equipment.

We continue to work to sell our building to Tyneside Group Limited, who intend to refurbish it and make it into a space for small businesses and performing arts organisations in Newcastle city centre. Our goal is to arrange for us to have a long-term lease or tenancy of the refurbished Turner (downstairs) hall as our worship and activities space, and we are working with Tyneside Group towards achieving this. Unfortunately the sale has been on hold for some time, as progressing it requires a site visit from Newcastle City Council’s planning department before planning permission can be granted to Tyneside Group Limited. The pandemic has meant that all site visits had to halt, and the council are now trying to clear the backlog. We are hopeful that the sale will complete before spring 2021.

Our membership continues to remain stable, although some of our members have been coming less frequently in the past year due to personal circumstances. However, we have recently been joined by several new members, and we hope to be able to focus more energy on attracting new members once the building is sold and we have more resources to commit to doing this. We have also looked to maximise our resources through investing our reserves in the M&G Charifund investment fund, and many thanks are due to the hard work of David Venus, our Treasurer, for arranging this. The recipient of the Rev. Herbert Barnes Memorial Award in 2021 was Rev. Rory Castle-Jones.

Another positive step forward is that we were able once more to take part in Tyne and Wear Heritage Open Days over 17-19 September 2021, when we received around 60 visitors – not bad in a pandemic year! Many thanks to Ben MacLeod for organising this, and to all involved in the successful running of this weekend. We recently filmed a ‘Virtual Tour’ of our building – a video showcasing its history and unique features – and are in the process of editing this together. The video will be shared with the NUA as soon as it is ready. Thanks to Brian Robson for being our representative to the NUA in 2020-2021.

We have continued to make regular donations of goods to the Joseph Cowen Centre for the Homeless, including coffee and tea, men’s socks and underpants, toiletries, and instant soup and porridge. We have also donated items of food to the People’s Kitchen, which provides food and services for homeless people in Newcastle, following our Harvest Service in September.

Finally, we have continued to enjoy services with a varied set of worship leaders both from our own resources and also from outside. We are grateful to all those Ministers and Lay Leaders who take services for us, and we are especially appreciative of all the work done by Diana Bebby in organising the pulpit supply, and also for her regular leadership of our ‘Discover and Discuss’ services. Both Louise Reeve and Diana Bebby have undertaken the Worship Studies Course this year, with financial support from the NUA.

It has been a year of turmoil, but we are aiming to build on what we have achieved during it to take us into the future.”

This is the full programme from the NUA AGM, including the Stockton Chapel report.